TITILLATION The Vintage Pulp Magazine Pin-Up Art of Peter DribenRecommended. Peter Driben was one of the most prolific cover artists to work on the risqué "girlie pulp" magazines that flourished in the USA between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. This meticulously-researched, lavishly-illustrated book is a glorious celebration of his work, and an absolutely essential addition to the bookshelves of anyone with a taste for classic pin-up and magazine cover artwork. Import from England. Silk Stockings, Wink, Movie Humor, High Heel, Bedtime Stories, Pep, Snappy, La Paree, Spicy, Eyeful, Flirt, Whisper...he worked for them all. Telos, 2017...More.

Item Code: TITIL
Soft Cover, 9x11, 190pg, Full Color
$39.95

DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS BY ADOLF MENZELRecommended. By Adolph Menzel. Introduction & Selection by James Gurney. "To draw everything is good, to draw everything is better still," declared Adolph Menzel, one of nineteenth-century Berlin's premier artists. In keeping with his motto, Menzel exhibited tremendous powers of observation, technical perfection, and an interest in a wide range of subjects. This volume contains 98 black-and-white images and 32 color plates of his works, many of which have rarely been seen outside of Germany. All were selected by Dinotopia author/artist James Gurney, who also provides an informative Introduction. Dover, 2017...More.

Item Code: DRPAI
Soft Cover, 8x11, 108, Partial Color $27.95 $24.95

Archives & Graphic Novels

FIRES & MURMURRecommended. By Lorenzo Mattotti and Jerry Kramsky. Created by Eisner Award-winning artist Lorenzo Mattotti, the unique, impressionistic art in Fires sweeps readers off into a hypnotic, haunting fantasy centered on a mysterious island where the hills are constantly ablaze. A second tale by Mattotti, co-written with Jerry Kramsky, offers another fantastic voyage. Murmur traces an amnesiac's quest across phantasmagoric landscapes to recover his identity — an enigmatic journey in which fear and confusion are resolved by arcane magic rituals. First published in France in 1988 and 1993. Dover, 2017. Mature Readers...More.

Item Code: FIRMH
Hard Cover, 8x11, 108, Full Color
$34.95 $31.95

STAR TREK GOLD KEY 100-PAGE SPECTACULARBargain-priced. Recommended. By Dick Wood and Len Wein. Art by Nevio Zaccara, Alberto Giolitti. A special 100-page collection of classic Gold Key Star Trek comics. Created by writers and artists who had not seen the show often (or at all) and worked off of whatever publicity materials they could get their hands on, the Gold Key Comics are true 1960s gems. Needless to say, the end results were definitely unusual -- and very un-Trek in some cases (A blond Scotty! Spock kills! The Enterprise belches fire!). IDW, 2017...More.

Essays on Comics History from MacFarlane

SUPERHEROINES AND THE EPIC JOURNEYMythic Themes in Comics, Film and Television. By Valerie Estelle Frankel. Foreword by Trina Robbins. The heroine's journey echoes throughout ancient legend. Each young woman combats her dark side and emerges stronger. This quest is also a staple of American comic books. Wonder Woman with semi-divine powers gives us a new female-centered creation story. Batgirl, Batwoman and Black Widow discover their enemy is the shadow twin, complete with the savagery they've rejected in themselves. From Jessica Jones and Catwoman to the new superwomen of cutting-edge webcomics, they are examined here. McFarland, 2017...More.

Item Code: SUPEJ
Soft Cover, 6x9, 290pg, Text Only
$19.99

MARVEL'S BLACK WIDOW From Spy to SuperheroEssays on an Avenger with a Very Specific Skill Set. Edited by Sherry Ginn. First appearing in Marvel Comics in the 1960s, Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, was introduced to movie audiences in Iron Man 2 (2010). Her character has grown in popularity with subsequent Marvel films, and fans have been vocal about wanting to see Black Widow in a titular role. Nine essays touch on everything from Joss Wheedon and feminism, to fan-made texts and the potential for a Black Widow film. Includes several photos of Scarlett Johansson and fellow superheroes. McFarland, 2017...More.

Item Code: MARBLW
Soft Cover, 6x9, 188pg, Text/b&w
$19.99

THE AGES OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUEEssays on America's Greatest Superheroes in Changing Times. Edited by Joseph J Darowski. The first superhero team from the Silver Age of comics, DC's Justice League has seen many iterations since its first appearance in 1960. As the original comic book continued and spin-off titles proliferated, talented writers, artists and editors adapted the team to appeal to changing audience tastes. This collection of new essays, by various writers, examines more than five decades of Justice League comics and related titles. Each essay considers a storyline or era in its historical and social contexts. McFarland, 2017...More.

Item Code: AGEJL
Soft Cover, 6x9, 212pg, Text Only
$19.99

“Canadian Whites” – Original Golden Age Comics from Canada

WOW COMICS #1Reprint of the Canadian Wow Comics,1941. By E.T. Legault. Art by Anthony Pierce, Jack Conway et al. From the same publisher as Johnny Canuck and The Polka Dot Pirate, a complete facsimile issue of a classic 1941 issue. When the War Conservation Act (WECA) stopped U.S. comics from coming into Canada, young creators there began their own industry. Influenced by American comics (in this case, by Will Eisner's Hawk of the Seas and Planet Comics, here we have two long, wild adventures: Dart Daring, daredevil master swordsman, and Whiz Wallace and the Invisible Planet. Bedside Press, 2016...More.

Item Code: WOWC01
Comic, 7x10, 64pg, Full Color
$15.00

ALSO AVAILABLENELVANA OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTSComplete Collected Stories, 1941-47. Highly Recommended. By Adrian Dingle. First appearing in 1941, Nelvana was tasked with protecting Canada's northern lands. She could fly at incredibly fast speeds, become invisible, and even turn into dry ice. She used her great powers to ward off Nazi invaders, shady fur traders, subterranean mammoth men, and interdimensional ether people. She was the first Canadian super hero, pre-dating Wonder Woman herself! CGA, 2014...More.

ALSO AVAILABLEJOHNNY CANUCK SignedThe complete stories, 1942-46. Bookplate signed by Rachel Richey. By Leo Bachle. Edited by Rachel Richey. Forward by Seth. Outside of a few pages reprinted in The Great Canadian Comic Books anthology in the 1970s, these stories have been out of print since World War Two, when they were at the frontline of the war against Hitler and of a very young Canadian pop culture. A fearless flying ace and daredevil who singlehandedly foils Nazi schemes and narrowly escapes again and again. Plus a biography of the artist/writer and extra features. Comic Syrup, 2015...More.

Item Code: JOCAH
Hard Cover - No Dustjacket, 7x10, 152pg, b&w
$24.95

ALSO AVAILABLEBROK WINDSOR 1944-1946Almost Gone!Highly Recommended. By Jon Stables. Edited by Hope Nicholson. One of the best-drawn Canadian comic features ever, collected in its entirety from 1944-46. Innovative and superbly drawn, with sci-fi elements and a sexy good-girl companion. Plus a lost story by Stables, newly drawn by Scott Changler. And: 25 contemporary artists contribute pin-up pages, including John K. Snyder III, Ronn Sutton, Yanick Paquette, and Leonard Kirk. Bedside, 2015. Out of Print....More.

ALSO AVAILABLEPOLKA DOT PIRATE SignedSigned by Hope Nicholson. Recommended. By Ross Mendes. The Polka Dot Pirate was created by Ross Mendes in 1945, strictly in Canadian comic books. Her adventures spanned across several of Bell Features' titles. Her origins are mysterious, all we know is that her real name is Lynne and she has at some point decided to don a polka dot cape and shirt in order to fight crime at the harbour! She's the Moon Girl of Canadian comics...or perhaps the Black Cat. Here are all five of her stories before she up and disappeared from comics. Plus: four cool new pin-ups. CGA, 2016...More.

Item Code: POLDP
Comic, 7x10, 24pg, Partial Color
$10.00

As a big fan of the Golden Age of American Comics, discovering that Canada had their very own Golden Age has been fascinating to me. But with much smaller printings than we had in the U.S., and with no heroes that were published beyond about 1946, these comics are now nearly impossible to find. They are coming up in auction and selling for huge amounts. We are bringing in every archive edition devoted to these comics—above is every one to appear so far.

Canadian historian Ivan Kocmarak wrote a wonderful overview of these comics and their creators in the Overstreet Price Guide #44 (2014-2015), in case you have one. It's now OP. But also, publisher Chapterhouse will be doing an entire book devoted to them, written by Ivan, in the near future. Here is a link to a recent column of his, one of dozens of wonderfully informative columns Ivan's written as one of the contributors to the website Comic Book Daily.

Coming in June & July

THE LIFE AND ART OF BERNIE FUCHSRecommended. By David Apatoff. At the peak of his fame, Bernie Fuchs' work was more widely admired—and imitated—than any other contemporary illustrator. At the age of 30 he was named "Artist of the Year" by the Artists Guild of New York. By 1975, he was the youngest illustrator ever elected to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. Now at last a major retrospective of Bernie's work has been assembled, the first such book published to date, filled with magazine covers, original paintings and a complete look at his career. Illustrated Press, 2017. Due July. ...More.

ALSO AVAILABLEWALT DISNEY'S TREASURY OF CLASSIC TALES Volume 1Introduction by Michael Barrier. Highly Recommended. By Frank Reilly. Art by Jesse Marsh, Manual Gonzales and Dick Moores. From the early 1950s through the late '80s, the Disney studio created Sunday comics adaptations of more than 120 of their animated and live-action films that were currently in movie theaters. The chronological all-star line-up in this first volume is almost an embarrassment of riches: the animated Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Peter and the Wolf, and two pre-cursers to the series, Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland! Plus live-action films 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robin Hood, The Sword and the Rose, Ben and Me, and Rob Roy. IDW, 2016...More.

Item Code: WDTC01H
Hard Cover, 12x9, 212pg, Full Color
$49.99 $39.99

RIP KIRBY Volume 101970-73. Recommended. By Fred Dickenson. Art by John Prentice. The longest-running modern adventure strip continues in thirteen new stories starring the debonair private detective. More than 800 sequential comics from April 27, 1970 to January 20, 1973 reproduced from the original King Features Syndicate proofs, insuring that every daily will look even better than when it was first published in newspapers more than forty years ago. Prentice continues his superb work, carrying on the fine line style and exciting storytelling that Alex Raymond began. IDW, 2017. Due July. ...More.

Item Code: RK10H
Hard Cover, 11x10, 296pg, b&w
$49.99 $39.99

See our website for most or all previous volumes, beginning with Alex Raymond in Volume 1. all are $49.99, your price $39.99. Still available are hurt copies of Volumes 1 and 7 at $19.99 each.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN Volume 1Collects Spectacular Spiderman #1-15, 1976. By Archie Goodwin, Bill Mantlo, Gerry Conway et al. Art by Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney. Spider-Man's not just amazing, he's spectacular -- and Marvel is proud to usher in The Spectacular Spider-Man as the Marvel Masterworks' 250th volume! In 1976, Spidey notched his second solo series under the direction of Gerry Conway and artist Sal Buscema. With his first live-action series on the horizon, the world wanted to know just who this Peter Parker guy was. Spectacular expanded opportunities for web-slinging wonder. Marvel, 2017. Due July. ...More.

Item Code: MMSS01H
Hard Cover, 7x10, 180pg $75.00 $59.00

ROY THOMAS PRESENTS THE LOST WORLDThe Complete Stories from Planet Comics #21-64, 1942-50. Highly Recommended. By Nick Cardy et al. Hunt Bowman lives on a future Earth that had been conquered by the Voltamen, fierce reptilian creatures with green skin. He is a giant of a man, massively strong, and highly skilled with a bow and arrow. He is discovered living on Earth by Lyssa, the Queen of Mars, when she leads an exploration party onto that planet. Together they develop a resistance movement against the Voltamen. Earth has been conquered, but Hunt fights on in this long-running, lead feature in the legendary Planet Comics. PS Artbooks, 2017. Due Aug. ...More.

ROY THOMAS PRESENTS THE LOST WORLD SlipcasedCollects #21-64, 1942-50. Limited printing with slipcase. By Nick Cardy, Graham Ingels, George Evans et al. Hunt Bowman lives on a future Earth that had been conquered by the Voltamen, fierce reptilian creatures with green skin. He is a giant of a man, massively strong, and highly skilled with a bow and arrow. He is discovered living on Earth by Lyssa, the Queen of Mars, when she leads an exploration party onto that planet. Together they develop a resistance movement against the Voltamen. Earth has been conquered, but Hunt fights on in this long-running, lead feature in the legendary Planet Comics. PS Artbooks, 2017. Due Aug. ...More.

SKY MASTERS OF THE SPACE FORCE The Complete Dailies 1958-61Highly Recommended. By Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. Jack Kirby's comic strip masterpiece is presented in an archival version featuring the complete dailies. Veteran scripters Dick and Dave Wood provided these late-1950s space/action adventure stories starring Sky Masters and his gang of intrepid followers, which closely resemble Kirby's work on Challengers of the Unknown (which was being published at the same time). Kirby's artwork is stunningly embellished by Wallace Wood and later by Marvel inker extraordinaire Dick Ayers. Hermes, 2017. Due July. ...More.

Item Code: SKYMH
Hard Cover, 10x9, 272pg, Partial Color
$49.99 $39.99

WONDER WOMAN The Art & Making the Film
By Sharon Gosling. Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sees the hero brought to the big screen for the first time in her own movie, and fully realizes the breathtaking wonder, strength, and grace of such an historic character. This celebrates the creation of the groundbreaking movie with a voyage of discovery, showcasing the earliest concept art, set and costume designs, sketches and storyboards. The book delves deep into the filmmaking process, from creating the stunning island of Themyscira to the war-torn trenches and towns of First World War Europe. Titan, 2017. Due June. ...More.

SPAWN VAULT EDITION
By Todd McFarlane. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Spawn, Todd McFarlane has opened his personal vault and is collecting the first seven issues of Spawn direct from the original art. Never-before-published original art boards in a new oversized (12.25 inches x 17.25 inches) hardcover book. Included in this special edition, are a few extra surprises from Todd: Randomly selected books will include an inserted one-of-a-kind sketch by Todd McFarlane. Image, 2017. Due July. ...More.

DC COMICS COLLECTION HARLEY QUINN PVC Statue. She is sure to have a ball and hammer out for the competition, providing you with a smile that even The Joker would love! This 1/6 scale PVC figure stands about 10 inches tall including her stool and comes with Harley's baseball bat and mallet (not pictured), as well as a named display plate, art card, and certificate of authenticity. dc-comics-collection-harley-quinn-pvc-statue, dc-comics-collection-harley-quinn-pvc-statue.html.1/6 scale.Due July. ...More.

Item Code: DCCHAR
10" tall, $110.00

WILL EISNER CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 1917-2017 SignedSigned by the author(s) & limited, 100! Recommended. The legacy that Will Eisner (1917–2005) had on sequential art cannot be overstated—his innovative storytelling, layouts, and art on his newspaper series The Spirit inspired a generation of cartoonists. His acclaimed run of graphic novels beginning in 1978 with A Contract with God helped pioneer that form. This catalogue includes 175 selected illustrations, reproduced from the original artwork, for the landmark 2017 Will Eisner Centennial Celebration exhibition, at Le Musée de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême and the Society of Illustrators in New York. Dark Horse, 2017. Due Apr. ...More.

While I'm on the subject of Comic Book Daily, mentioned above, here's a well-illustrated review of this new Will Eisner Centennial Book.
We have the trade edition in stock after our first shipment sold out [WECCH. $49.99, your price $39.99]. We are still awaiting delivery of the deluxe signed edition, above, but expect it any day now.

Mature Readers

Last week we listed here the first four nude photography titles we just brought in at special sale prices. I mistakenly said the publisher was Goliath—it is actually Edition Reuss, who’s also based out of Europe, in this case Germany.

We’ll be listing six more books over the next two weeks, but if you want to get the jump on these, you can go to our home page, Advanced Search, scroll down to Publisher, and enter Edition Reuss. That will get you all 16 titles, all but two at new sale prices of more than 50% off. Please note our quantities on ALL of these are limited, this was a one-time deal and what we have now is all that we’ll have at this special price.

News
and Notes

Rare & Out of Print
A reminder that last week we began listing one-of-a-kind, long out of print books. These are coming from our sister business, Bud Plant & Hutchison Books. We’ve now added this category to our website home page, and by going there and clicking on ALL, you can see everything we have put up so far. We’ve already sold several books, but more are being added each week. Click here.

If there is anything in particular that you are looking for, I encourage you to contact my partner Anne Hutchison at 530-273-9762 or email her at bpandhbooks@mac.com. Just a couple weeks ago a customer responded to this mention and scored many of the long out of print Illustration Magazines we’d just picked up. If you are looking for comics-related books, especially on comics artists, from the past 20-30 years, give us a try. We might have it in stock.

Wrightson Eulogy

At 65 now myself, I've found I've grown old along with some wonderful talent, and Berni was one of the best. I first discovered his work before he became a professional, back in the fanzine days. But even after he was working for companies like DC, doing that incredible material for titles like House of Secrets and House of Mystery, he also kept contributing to zines. Because that was where he came from.

Kaluta, Vess, Jeff Jones, Bode...they were the new generation that came up out of fan publishing days circa 1969-1970, and injected new life into comics as (many) the old guard from the 40s and 50s moved aside. But they also were greatly influenced by the great artists, not only in comics (in Berni's case, Graham Ingles and even Frazetta) but great artists in the world of in general book and magazine illustration. Berni especially was inspired by Franklin Booth and Joseph Clement Coll, superb masters of the line, and his Frankenstein was the break-through book that channeled those artists into modern storytelling. In doing so, he was as good as they were at their finest.

I didn't know Berni as intimately as I wish, since we only bumped into each other over the years, at conventions for the most part. And I think he was there working on my one-and-only visit to The Studio, when the four friends (with Barry Smith) shared that amazing space in downtown NYC.

But he was always a gentleman and a pleasure to talk to, however briefly, as things got busier and busier at shows, for both of us. But it's is his work that lives on for me, and what a body of work it is. Thanks, Berni, for giving us so much fabulous artwork and storytelling.

~Bud

Our Catalog and Contact Info

We publish a color catalog every two months—if you’ve placed an order in the last 12 months, you will receive it hot off the press. If this is your first order, or if you’d like an extra copy, you can add one to your order: click here. Or call or send us your address and we’ll mail one to you. You can also download it here.

Contact us: csr@budsartbooks.com or 530-273-2166 Mon-Fri 9-4

Website Index

See our website for thousands of books of the Unusual and Hard-to-Find ~ Hundreds on Sale!